The Ogham is a system of writing that only survives in its original form on a handful of stones scattered throughout Ireland, Wales, and Scotland.
Early Irish bards and Christian monk scholars preserved the Ogham by writing it down and teaching it as a way of telling stories.
The origin of the writing is lost to rumor, but the most compelling rumor that I read about in my research is the idea that the Ogham was invented as a cipher so that the Druids would be able to communicate without the Romans knowing what they were talking about. There was also a sign language version that only the Druids knew.
The most fascinating part: each letter of the Ogham corresponds with a tree or plant, which in turn has magical powers. By using certain spellings and combinations of words, bards and druids were able to invoke spells of protection and misdirection. Obviously this didn’t work, because the pagan religion disappeared, leaving no written record.
This is what sparked a major pivot in my book. I changed the story of An Argument of Fairies to make the Ogham a central focus of the story.
